The regime hanged Reyhaneh Jabbari, 26, Saturday morning for the crime of murder, having convicted her of stabbing to death a former officer of the Intelligence Ministry, whom she said was trying to rape her.
A government announcement about the execution said the victim had been stabbed in the back, “indicating the murder was not self-defense.” The statement also asserted that Jabbari had bought the murder weapon two days prior to the killing, something that had not been published before. It has not offered a motive for the murder, however.
Jabbari maintained her innocence to the end, saying that as a 19-year-old she had grabbed a knife and stabbed Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, 49, as he wrestled her and then fled from the building.
She was hanged inside Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.
In a message left on her mother’s answering machine, Jabbari said: “In the court of God I will charge the inspectors, I will charge inspector Shamlou, I will charge the judge, and the judges of the country’s Supreme Court that beat me up when I was awake and did not refrain from harassing me. In the court of the creator I will charge Dr. Farvandi, I will charge Qassem Shabani and all those that out of ignorance or with their lies wronged me and trampled on my rights and didn’t pay heed to the fact that sometimes what appears as reality is different from it.”
Jabbari also asked that her organs be donated to others so she could go on living through them.
“I don’t want to rot under the soil. I don’t want my eye or my young heart to turn into dust. Beg so that it is arranged that as soon as I am hanged my heart, kidney, eye, bones and anything that can be transplanted be taken away from my body and given to someone who needs them as a gift. I don’t want the recipient to know my name, buy me a bouquet, or even pray for me. I am telling you from the bottom of my heart that I don’t want to have a grave for you to come and mourn there and suffer. I don’t want you to wear black clothing for me. Do your best to forget my difficult days. Give me to the wind to take away.”
The United States, Canada, Britain, Germany and a number of other countries condemned the execution saying Jabbari’s case had not been handled in accord with international judicial standards.
There have been multiple stories about the case and many conflicting reports offered as facts.
Jabbari said Sarbandi heard her speaking on the phone in a cafÈ about her decorating business and asked her to decorate his office. He later picked her up and drove her to a house, where, Jabbari said, he attacked her.
News reports have said a beverage glass was found on a table that contained a well-known date rape sedative.
Sarbandi’s sons said they would only agree to grant her a reprieve from execution if she withdrew her assertion that their father had attempted to rape her. She refused.
The State Department condemned the execution and said, “There were serious concerns with the fairness of the trial and the circumstances surrounding this case, including reports of confessions made under sever duress.”
Canada was more blunt, saying the execution once again showed “Iran’s contempt for due process.”
The statement issued by prosecutor general’s office after the execution said, “Jabbari had repeatedly confessed to premeditated murder, then tried to divert the case from its course by inventing the rape charge. But all her efforts to feign innocence were proven false in various phases of the prosecution. The evidence was firm. She had informed a friend through a text message of her intention to kill. It was ascertained that she had purchased the murder weapon, a kitchen knife, two days before committing murder.”
Sarbandi was described as a surgeon who had earlier worked for the Intelligence Ministry, though his position there has never been given.
Ahmad Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, said of the execution, “Actions like these do not help Iran build confidence or trust with the international community.”
Chewing gum ingredient becomes political issue
Trident, the American chewing gum, has sparked controversy in Iran after reports that the gum contains sugar alcohol.
A number of clerics have issued statements on sugar alcohol and Sharia law. Most, but not all, say that because of the low alcohol content and non-intoxicating nature, no harm will come from using Trident.
Sugar alcohol is used widely in the food industry as thickeners and sweeteners, substituting for table sugar.
But here’s the bottom line. Iran’s Dental Information Institute announced that sugar alcohol is just a name and the substance does not contain any alcohol whatsoever.
The unanswered question—and unasked—is why the Islamic Republic is allowing such an iconic American product as chewing gum into the country at all. Isn’t anyone worried about the American cultural invasion any more?
